I am an international keynote speaker who helps leaders communicate with impact, foster collaboration, manage continuous change, engage others, build cultures of candor and increase sales. I'm the author of “The Nonverbal Advantage: Body Language at Work,” & “The Silent Language of Leaders: How Body Language Can Help – or Hurt – How You Lead.” My latest book is "The Truth About Lies in the Workplace: How to Spot Liars and What to do About Them." In this blog I focus primarily on nonverbal communication in the workplace. My greatest interest is how body language impacts leadership effectiveness. I’ve written over 300 articles in the fields of organizational change, leadership, innovation, employee engagement, collaboration, global business practices, lies and candor in the workplace, and body language. Prior to founding Kinsey Consulting Services (through which I offer management consulting and executive coaching), I was a therapist specializing in behavioral change, a singer and dancer in nightclubs, and a majorette for the 49er football team. But not in that order. Feel free to follow me on Twitter: cgoman, subscribe to me on Facebook, or Circle me on Google+.

12 Ways To Spot A Liar At Work

Your boss tells you that “this change is for the best,” but as she speaks, you notice her stiff body posture and forced smile. Is she being honest with you?

Your co-worker says he’d be happy to help you with your project, but he seems to pause a long time before answering – and while talking, his eyes stay focused on his computer monitor. Can you trust what he says?

“You can count on my support.”

“It wasn’t my fault.”

“You’re next in line for a promotion.”

Really?

Wouldn’t it be great to know when we’re being lied to? And, wouldn’t it be nice if exposing falsehoods were as easy as it is portrayed on television shows like “Lie to Me” and “The Mentalist?” But of course, those are entertaining fantasies. In real life, human beings are more complex than that. And, as commonplace as deception is, deception detection remains an inexact science.

For the vast majority of the individuals you work with, the act of lying triggers a heightened stress response. And these signs of stress and anxiety are obvious, if you know where to look. Basically, what we’re finding is that the mind has to work a lot harder to generate a false response. One theory – posed by Daniel Langleben, a psychiatrist at the University of Pennsylvania – is that, in order to tell a lie, the brain first has to stop itself from telling the truth and then create the deception, and then deal with the accompanying emotions of guilt, anxiety, and the fear of being caught.

Spotting deception begins with observing a person’s baseline behavior under relaxed or generally stress-free conditions so that you can detect meaningful deviations. One of the strategies that experienced police interrogators use is to ask a series of non-threatening questions while observing how the subject behaves when there is no reason to lie. Then, when the more difficult issues get addressed, the officers watch for changes in nonverbal behavior that indicate deception around key points.

In business dealings, the best way to understand someone’s baseline behavior is to observe her over an extended period of time. Note her speech tone, gestures, blinking patterns, etc. Once you’ve assessed what is “normal” for a co-worker, you will be able to detect shifts, when her body language is “out of character.” Just remember (and this is key), that the atypical signals you detect may be signs of lying — or a state of heightened anxiety caused by many other factors.

One of the biggest body language myths about liars is that they avoid eye contact. In fact, many liars, especial the most brazen, may actually overcompensate (to prove that they are not lying) by making too much eye contact and holding it too long.

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You also just mentioned 12 things that people do when they’re intimidated by someone; say… the person they report to. Sounds like great advice to make managers paranoid about whether they’re people are lying to them. Best advice: If you think someone is lying, tell them so and hash it out. Communication always trumps assumption. Great article though!

Travis: You are correct. When people are intimidated (or anxious for any reason) they display these same behaviors. That’s why I stated “Just remember (and this is key), that the atypical signals you detect may be signs of lying — or a state of heightened anxiety caused by many other factors.” It’s also why determining a baseline is so important. If a person always responds with these body language cues, then it may be indicative of nothing more than what’s normal for him under certain circumstances. But if these signals are out of character, then I’d use them as a “yellow light” — and know that something unusual is happening. At the very least, I’d recognize that this issue/discussion/question is triggering a stress response. Thanks for the comment. Carol

Calling someone a liar is also a surefire way to begin to intimidate them. Unfortunately, people who have a naturally nervous disposition often get drawn into the mess along with actual liars, because many of these same traits (except perhaps for the pupil dilation) are brought on in times of stress.

If you’re dealing with a true sociopath, or at least borderline personality, confronting them is not a good idea. These people tend to react negatively to being called out so you may make the situation worse by telling them you know they’re a liar!

@Travis, I agree….this article implies a person and someone else does not have the skillset to work things out through communicating, and people can certainly grow in a workplace, even an unsafe one. Although I can see some workplaces where even when you try to call someone else out, that person may resist and refuse to communicate.

Generally I agree with the signals suggested in this article, except they equally as likely could result from extenuating circumstances as simple as, for example, someone having an allergy or even a dried out contact lens. My point is that these signs probably indicate only that something more is going on, but I would be careful jumping to conclusions based only on these signals.